Arpaio wants to prevent release of depositions

A lawyer for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is asking a federal judge to forbid the public release of videos of depositions by nine sheriff’s officials in a lawsuit that accuses deputies of racially profiling Hispanics in immigration patrols.

Sheriff’s attorney Thomas Liddy requests that the videos not be released until after the case has concluded and argues that the lawsuit should be tried in court and not in the media.

Portions of a deposition that Arpaio made in the case in December were broadcast on at least two TV stations in metro Phoenix.

Arpaio and several managers in his office are undergoing a new round of depositions in the lawsuit in the coming days.